fight or flight
by gormogon
Summary: just started watching his show and I fell in love with it,Jane and Lisbon or as i like to call them lisbane with oodles of drama as always enjoy:-
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so I just really got into watching the Mentalist and this is my first fic but with some episodes I think how could Lisbon put up with so much of Jane's mind games so I decided to write a story where Lisbon finally reaches her limit….**

Jane had to run to keep pace with Lisbon as he continued his argument

'we concluded that the 'dark man' was Gracie's father and the man she witnessed murder her mother so why hark at me for using alternative methods?'

God even his speech was laced with the same condescension that his smile held.

'no…you know what Jane,I've had enough of your undermining and unethical tactics,Im done I….I just cant do this anymore'

Jane smiled as he believed this was just another one of her retorts,he bowed gracefully from her and added:

'I think I am due a nap'

She couldn't help but mutter

'yeah because trouble making can be so tiring'

Jane when in the process of making his usual post nap trip to the kitchenette area to make some tea was surprised to find Lisbon in an intent conversation with it was,Hightower was shaking her head clearly not happy with whatever Lisbon was suggesting to her.

But what Jane didn't expect was the gesture Hightower gave Lisbon,breaching the physical contact barrier Lisbon held religiously around her Hightower took her hands in what Jane assumed was an apologetic manner.

Then it surfaced from his memory vault and hit his cerebrum like a wrecking ball,what Lisbon had said earlier,could she possibly be doing what he thought she was doing?

He couldn't wait any longer he had to defend himself properly and in her presence too.

'hello,sorry didn't mean to interrupt a clearly intense discussion but I had to ask,am I being fired?'

Hightower took a moment to compose herself and only then did Jane notice her tears,unshed but threatening on her lids and he considered that maybe he had read the situation completely wrong but he couldn't back out now,quite literally as he was already in her office.

'excuse me?'Hightower fixed him with a questioning look.

'you know fired,cut,axed,got the chop…..

'I know what you meant by the word fired,if I needed a dictionary I would then come find you,but where in the world did you get the idea that you're being fired?'

Lisbon too seemed withdrawn and wouldn't meet Jane's gaze no matter how much he concentrated on pulling her eyes towards him.

'its just that well (clearing his throat and the awkwardness) Lisbon mentioned earlier that she wasn't particularly impressed with my work on this case and I just thought that…..

From this he got no snaky remark or reply from Lisbon which worried him.

Instead Hightower took over.

'Lisbon is one of the finest agents I have working for me Mr Jane and I doubt very much that she'd ever cause trouble for any member of her team but while you're here there are some new arrangements that have been put into place as of today'

'oh so I am being reprimanded well I will say beforehand that taking away my tea would be more an act of human cruelty than punishment'

'please excuse me I have a meeting I have to go to'

Lisbon hurried from the room in her svelte way and left Jane confounded.

He was about to follow her but Hightower caught him

'Jane don't even think about it,you stay here,I need to discuss a few things with you'

Was it all in his head or did he sense a sudden hostility directed towards him from Hightower?

'I know my methods push the boundaries of laws and beureau ethics sometimes but I adamantly swear they produce results more than procedural thechniques'

'this is not a courtroom Jane you are not pleading your case to me,and I will never publicly declare that I agree with your methods because I would be out of a job and there is no punishment although I think you are in for a tough time'

This only managed to deepen Jane's frown.

'I have been informed today that one of my very best agents,wishes to transfer to a different crimes unit…now they are lacking people in the New York district and I have been tasked with making the phone call'

Fear and tension hitched Jane's heartbeat up a few beats and made his stomach roil with even though he hadn't eaten all tried a s calmly as possible to ask

'what agent are we talking about?'

Hightower also couldn't hold Jane's stare as she replied

'agent Lisbon'


	2. Chapter 2

Jane ran from Hightower's office all keyed up like he was about to undertake some life changing event and he was running on adrenaline.

Of course this was life changing but he might as well have been told he had a terminal illness because he couldn't believe that Lisbon was leaving the CBI.

For once he couldn't have predicted the series of events that occurred today.

What had Hightower meant when she said 'Lisbon needs time alone'

As he raced from the imagined from the tone she used that Hightower had intended to add 'away from you' but she didn' ,Jane took it as a knew he aggravated Lisbon when he worked the way he did but never had he conceived it would cause her to take such drastic action.

She was sacrificing her career over him and his unconventional methods but not if he didn't stop her would resist he knew but she would also acknowledge that when she stopped bottling it all up,it would be him she trusted with her innermost private thoughts.

He knocked on the door of the house he only visited once before and may never visit again if all went ahead as planned by its owner.

'Lisbon its Jane'

She opened the door on the third knock,Jane was surprised to find a man sitting on her couch.

'oh Lisbon I…I dint know you had company,I can come back later'

'uh..no actually you can stay he was just leaving'

'yes..yes I was,I will talk to you soon Teresa take care of yourself now'

'yes thank you'

The handshake between Lisbon and the stranger seemed taught with tension and a hint of gentleness Jane thought.

Lisbon almost looked flushed that Jane had caught her with another man in her apartment so he tried to lighten the mood before he became serious.

'tender but a little old for you don't you think?'

'he's not my lover Jane trust me'

'my my Lisbon what a Freudian mind you have,I wasn't implying any such thing'

This finally illicited a smile from Lisbon not that she's let Jane see it,her hair acted as her curtain for such occasions,like the closing of Jane's favourite Shakespeare plays.

'he's a family friend'

Jane, through observation, caught a medical practitioner of sorts vibe from him that he didn't mention as of yet.

'amusing story I heard today from our very own boss'

'Hightower told a joke?'

The rhetorical question was implied as they both knew full well Hightower was not a natural comic.

Jane became solemn and a wave of despair settled over him as he questioned her

'Lisbon what were you thinking?'

The past tense made Lisbon realise that Jane may not have fully accepted the reality of the situation so she decided to set him straight.

'I was thinking of transferring to a different crimes unit'

'really… what brought about this chain of events if I may ask?'

'its time for a change you know,you're always saying how I need to get out more well this is it'

'all the way to New York?Lisbon I was just suggesting a few more social nights out,personal time'

'it will be a very valid learning experience'

'hmmm come now Lisbon you know I wont be fooled with some halfhearted or clichéd turn of phrase such as a need for change now don't you?tell me the real reason you're leaving and quite abruptly I might add'

He was trying to smooth talk her into it by speaking in hushed tones,his soothing voice had a hypnotic affect..on most people but not her.

'Hightower cited some personal speech but I don't buy it and im sorry but I need to know'

'its none of your business Jane'

'listen I will make you a promise to make a wholehearted attempt at curtailing my behaviour'

'God Jane this has nothing to do with you for once,and look Im aware that that may be hard to accept but its honestly not because of you'

'ill tell you why it has everything to do with me shall I Lisbon,its because I have a symbiotic relationship with you that nobody else has come even close to recreating,I rely on you,you may not have guessed by now but you are a part of my part that separates my memories from my emotions'

The close proximity and Jane's leaning stance brought fear to Lisbon's eyes but the insanity that sparked behind Jane's mad eher shiver even more.

And in that split second Jane also read something behind her protective walls she put up a hint of vulnerability,weakness.

It smelled tangy and Jane had to avert his eyes in disgust,this wasn't the Lisbon he knew at all.

'you know its distasteful to me how cowardly you're being,you never used to run away from any difficult situation thrown at you'

'I never expected you to come into my life Jane and now im leaving first before one of us gets killed'

By this of course she was insinuating Jane was the biggest curse she had ever been burdened hurt too much like the time she told she didn't trust had proved her wrong once,he would do it again but he realised he needed time and sleep so it seemed.

'I guess I would have said the same thing 9 years ago…goodnight Lisbon'


	3. Chapter 3

The next day,Jane was unable to stop himself from approaching the grey haired man waiting by Lisbon's desk.

'uh hi we met last night didn't we? My name's Patrick Jane'

'hello Mr Jane,Im Roy Horbison'

'ah so you take off the H and it becomes-

'yes my parents were big Orbison fans back in the 60's,so it only seemed fitting I suppose'

'you know singing can be a powerful release of stress for some people,very therapeutic a sudden release of endorphins,is there any chance that you can sing like the legend himself….why don't you try it?'

'um…no I don't think I will thank you very much'

he seemed far too preoccupied glancing all around him to relax,Jane was when he noticed the large envelope Harbison was tapping against his rhythm acted like a metronome,it couldn't have been more perfectly set up for first he decided to try the civil approach.

'so are you waiting for Lisbon? I imagine you would have a lot of patients to see to'

'I have my pager if anyone needs me so did Teresa tell you about me?'

'um..no I just guessed,last night when you passed me in the doorway I caught the faint scent of ammonia,your conservative dress sense with shirt tucked into the pants outside of work pretty much narrowed it down to medical practitioner of some kind…doctor perhaps or dare I say…Nurse?'

The tapping of the envelope became more pronounced as Harbison simply replied

'she shouldn't be too long now I think she said ten o clock on the phone'

'crime never considers time'while he smiled at his own rhyme Jane added

'eh..listen why don't I take that for you Ill pass it on as soon as she gets here'

'oh no I couldn't…its really against hospital policy'

'well your not in a hospital now,she wouldn't mind believe me she tells me everything you anyway'

Except of course for the fact that she was seeing a doctor but aside from that she held him in her confidence.

'Id still rather wait for Miss Lisbon if that's ok no offence to you Mr Jane'

Time for plan b:

'you have to see this coin I found earlier,see how shiny that is..how it reflects light like a prism..like sunlight glinting on the water'

His voice became deeper and more husky as the good doctors eyelids began to droop

'look how it moves so precisely head to tails to heads and then back to tails'

Within a few minutes of this mantra Jane had the doctor in his trance,with his hypnotic voice.

Te envelope slipped from his hands and Jane decided it would be heartless to leave the man with nothing so he left him with a suggestion

'and when you go home tonight I want you to relax,listen to the silence that envelops you wrap yourself in that silence,you will be filled with a sense of achievement because you have helped so many people during the day,your heartbeat slows with the tick tock of the clock as you fall asleep….

The man drifted through the station faze over and not quite free from the hypnosis.

Jane picked up the envelope and cursed himself before opening it,he was blatantly going back on his promise to her not to mention invading her he deemed it far too important to ignore it.

It was test results and updates of her illness,it appeared that his dear agent had a stomach ulcer,a duodenal ulcer to be specific and the doctor put the cause down as sobered at this news as it registered in his brain,all of the consequences of his actions were coming back in one hard hit.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that afternoon Jane trudged into Lisbon's office and closed the door

Naturally Lisbon feared another conversation about Red John because that topic usually elicited a more private setting but this time Jane sat across from her,putting both on an equal footing,if Jane came to boast or when he he was anxious he's stand above her,patronizing her…and he said she couldnt mentalise,she smiled at her progress.

She couldn't ignore his unwavering stare so after a couple of minutes she met his eye contact

'so….feeling a little stressed lately have we?'

She saw a flash of understanding and it registered in her mind

'how the hell did you find out about that Jane that was private?'

'Dr Horbison says hey'

'there is no way he would have breached doctor-patient confidentiality'

She began acing the floor now:

'wait..wait a minute you must have,oh my god Jane you hypnotised him didn't you?'

She hit him lightly on the arm

'it doesn't matter Lisbon you should have told me,you told me once that you trusted me'

'this whole thing is exactly what im talking about Jane,you infuriate me with your tricks'

'you should have told me…it is my fault after all,I should at least have the burden of guilt and blame'

'its…it's a lot of things Jane not just you,it's the job-

'oh yes the job of course that's why you're transferring to the exact same position in a different state'

'actually there's a bigger team to take on the slack,less paper work meaning less hours in the office'

Jane continued on like he hadn't heard her

'my ego has always been my destruction button Lisbon…it caused the death of my family and now my actions are pushing you away'

'come on Jane its no fair when you bring up the past like that,I cant be mad at you then for breaking my trust'

She sat on the couch next to him

'didn't it ever occur to you that I would have told you in my own time?'

'Lisbon you defiantly told me just this morning that it had nothing to do with me'

'that's because you pit way too much on yourself Jane…I didn't want to put ant of the blame on you ,not right now,not ever,you're too fragile and its really not your fault'

She tapped his leg with her finger to get his full attention

'you make my job more exciting,interesting if anything you were probably curing my ulcer all along'

'oh Lisbon sweet sweet God fearing Lisbon,your lying leaves much to be desired…I cant let you go but if you're set on leaving then I have to go with you'

He said this in a very matter of fact business manner before he continued

'but firstly I need to ask you this question,what about those people out there that depend on you to guide them,you're like their shepherd without you Cho,Rigsby and Van Pelt would have no direction,they would be ….aimless'

'oh don't play the guilt trip with me Jane,they are completely capable of doing their jobs without me'

'a teacher's work is never done Lisbon'

'I have some reports to finish'

But he grabs her hand as she passes him on her way to her desk

'Teresa'

He begins caressing he hand in gentle anticlockwise motions

'with solids there is no chaos,no entropy,If you leave all will go to hell and Hightower'

Although she didn't really understand the comparison she caught the sentiment behind the gesture and blushed the faintest red.


	5. Chapter 5

Lisbon had plenty of time to think about her position fortunately Hightower hadn't made the call and was uncharacteristically overjoyed when Lisbon said she would stay but she was ordered compulsory 2 months leave while she undertook treatment.

Jane had a good long think too mostly while breathing in the familiar scent of Lisbon when he napped on her couch.

When he wasn't there he was at her bedside,he saw her at her worst recovering from the operation and either made her a herbal mixture of tea or brought fresh strawberries from the market they both liked.

The first day he brought her a mango infusion mix

She was expecting coffee and had to force it down her throat in disgust after the first sip

'ugh Jane what the hell is that,sugar in a cup?'

'now Lisbon you know you cant have coffe,the caffeine simply irritates the stomach,but this my sweet Agent is a blend of mango and chamomile,calms you right down,stress elimination in a cup'

This is how the rest of the week progressed and in the evenings he would lull her into a sleep with poems of William Blake.


End file.
